Happy New Year from Energy & Environmental Science!
Welcome to the first issue of 2009 of our exciting new journal, Energy & Environmental Science. Since our tremendously successful launch in the second half of 2008, Energy & Environmental Science has already attracted a lot of attention. We've been delighted by the reception to the journal, the excellent number and quality of submissions we've received and published, and the really positive feedback on the early issues.
A distinctive high-quality journal
Building a sustainable energy future while addressing associated global environmental challenges is the great problem of our time. Energy & Environmental Science was established in response to the clear and pressing need for a central location for the publication and dissemination of key results and new scientific advances being made towards achieving this goal.As a new journal, Energy & Environmental Science is uniquely chartered to act as a bridge between all the diverse communities working in these critically important research areas. Indeed, we are happy that the work published reflects this broad scope—from solar energy conversion to biofuels, from fuel cells to hydrogen storage, from nanotechnology for new energy systems to carbon dioxide sequestration, from catalysis to innovative environmental solutions, and much more besides. Indeed, for a snapshot of some of the work we've already published see Table 1 which lists our most-accessed articles so far.
| Titles | DOI | Authors |
|---|---|---|
| Solar water-splitting into H2 and O2: Design principles of photosystem II and hydrogenases | DOI: 10.1039/b808792j | Wolfgang Lubitz et al. |
| The current status of hydrogen storage in metal–organic frameworks | DOI: 10.1039/b808322n | Hong-Cai Zhou et al. |
| Carbon nanotube-modified electrodes for solar energy conversion | DOI: 10.1039/b805419n | Hiroshi Imahori et al. |
| Synthesis of ammonia borane for hydrogen storage applications | DOI: 10.1039/b808865a | Tom Autrey et al. |
| Thermochemical biofuel production in hydrothermal media: A review of sub- and supercritical water technologies | DOI: 10.1039/b810100k | Andrew Peterson et al. |
| Electrospun nanofibers in energy and environmental applications | DOI: 10.1039/b809074m | S. Ramakrishna et al. |
| Advancing beyond current generation dye-sensitized solar cells | DOI: 10.1039/b809672d | Joseph Hupp et al. |
| Recent developments in proton exchange membranes for fuel cells | DOI: 10.1039/b808149m | Ram Devanathan |
| Sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in global carbon pools | DOI: 10.1039/b809492f | Rattan Lal |
From the outset we have shown that we are a truly international journal, with excellent visibility throughout the globe. As is illustrated in Fig. 1, submissions to the journal from different geographical areas show an impressive balance.
 | ||
| Fig. 1 Geographical distribution of Energy & Environmental Science submissions. | ||
A key of aim of Energy & Environmental Science is to “add value” to the existing literature, to maximise the service we offer to the scientific community. With this in mind, we are happy to announce two new developments:
• New summary section
With such a wide readership, the Energy & Environmental Science Editorial Board has decided that all published work in the journal will be accompanied by a brief paragraph that puts the research into the broader context, highlighting the main advances and their impact on energy and environmental science. The summary paragraph is designed to be easily readable and understandable for the entire readership of the journal, it will be published as a section within an article. We hope the new summary will be a popular addition to the journal. | ||
| Plate1 Editor-in-Chief Professor Nathan Lewis with Editor Philip Earis | ||
• New article type—“Analysis” articles
As explained by Editor-in-Chief Professor Nathan Lewis in his Editorial in issue 1 (DOI: 10.1039/b810864c), progress in transitioning to a globally scalable and sustainable energy system is a world-wide problem that demands contributions from scientists, engineers, economists, policy makers, and decision makers around the world. Rapid progress on this urgent issue depends on the integration of perspectives in these areas.To make sure that Energy & Environmental Science is fully encompassing of all its communities, we are introducing a new article type to cover technology implementation and policy analysis in the wider energy and environmental fields: the “Analysis” article.
The purpose of an Analysis article is to quantitatively analyse technologies and technological systems. Analysis articles will provide in-depth examination of energy and environmental technologies, strategies, policies, and overarching conceptual frameworks of interest to the journal's wide and global readership. Written for a scientifically literate audience they will present new methods and data and fresh insights into energy and environmental research. They will demonstrate scholarly rigor and tightness of presentation comparable to articles in mainstream science and not simply act as a repository of data with superficial or speculative commentary. Instead, through the Analysis articles readers of Energy & Environmental Science will learn something new about methods or data, be informed about important new technologies or technological strategies, or see a policy argument in a fresh light.
Authors of potential Analysis articles are encouraged to contact the Editorial Office, to discuss the scope and suitability of their article. All Analysis submissions will be subject to our usual rigorous and fair peer-review procedures.
Of course, we will continue to publish (and actively welcome submissions of) our existing lively mix of article types, including original research Papers and Communications, Reviews, Perspective feature articles, Minireviews, and important Opinion pieces from leaders in their fields. Opinion articles are informative and thought-provoking—see Table 2 for a list of those we have published so far (including in this issue an Opinion by Amory Lovins).
| Opinion | Author | DOI |
|---|---|---|
| The unity of science | Dr Raymond L. Orbach, US Department of Energy | DOI: 10.1039/b812783m |
| The challenge of biofuels | Professor José Goldemberg, University of São Paulo, Brazil | DOI: 10.1039/b814178a |
| Profitable climate solutions: | Dr Amory B. Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute | DOI: 10.1039/b814525n |
| Correcting the sign error |
Free online access
Energy & Environmental Science is published on a not-for-profit basis, and to maximise the visibility of work published throughout 2009 the most recent issue of Energy & Environmental Science—plus any Advance Articles—will continue to be freely available to all on our website (www.rsc.org/ees).In addition, the entire 2008 and 2009 content will be freely available following a simple registration process. Access is managed by Institution and IP address. Make sure your organisation takes advantage of this by registering at www.rsc.org/ees_registration.
Energy & Environmental Science around the Web
Energy & Environmental Science is lucky to have the enthusiastic backing of a supportive community and we're excited to offer our readers new ways to engage with our journal on the wider web.Facebook users can visit our official Facebook page.† By becoming a fan on Facebook you can keep up to date with the latest articles published online, and view and share relevant videos, images, events and news. You can also use the page to find out about upcoming events where you can meet the editors or contribute to a discussion and, of course, connect with fellow fans.
You can keep up to date with the latest research appearing in Energy & Environmental Science by adding our Google gadgets to your desktop. We've got a great RSC journal gadget‡ that delivers journal RSS feeds straight to your Google desktop and a journal search gadget§ that allows you to search articles appearing in RSC journals directly from your desktop.
To find our more about how you can engage with Energy & Environmental Science around the web, bookmark the homepage at www.rsc.org/ees.
Energy & Environmental Science around the World
Another way we show we are a Society journal, published solely for the benefit of the research community is through our conference outreach activities.We were proud to directly reward outstanding young researchers with a series of Energy & Environmental Science poster prizes at a number of conferences in 2008. For example, prizes were awarded at the ESF meeting on Nanotechnology for Sustainable Energy, the Gordon Research Conference on Fuel Cells, and the 17th International Conference on Photochemical Conversion and Storage of Solar Energy. Many congratulations to all the winners!
Further similar activities are planned for 2009. Suggestions for future conferences that we can sponsor or different ways that we might offer support are invited. Please do get in touch with the Editorial Office (mailto:ees@rsc.org) with your ideas.
As well as offering sponsorship, the Energy & Environmental Science Editorial Team will continue to attend a significant number of conferences around the world in 2009, to promote the journal, to make sure we are aware of the very latest research developments, and to meet authors, readers and referees and get their feedback. If Energy & Environmental Science is represented at a conference you're attending, please do come and say “Hello”.
Submit your work
We are actively welcoming high-quality submissions for the coming issues of the journal. All published articles will be free-to-access for all, and be subject to great exposure and extensive promotion. If accepted for publication we are happy to give authors free copies of the print issue in which their article appears, and send copies of the issue to researchers of their choosing. We recognise the importance to many authors of rapid publication, and as is shown by the speed of articles published so far Energy & Environmental Science is already destined to become the quickest journal in its field.We are happy to print figures in colour, free of charge, when the use of colour enhances the scientific understanding of the figure. In addition, in the online version of the journal, colour can be provided at no cost in the pdf and html versions.
We believe life should be as simple as possible for authors at the submission stage; so are happy to receive submissions (in almost any electronic format and reasonable layout), either as an email attachment to mailto:ees@rsc.org, or through the ReSourCe web submissions service (www.rsc.org/resource).
As a reminder, when you cite Energy & Environmental Science articles in future manuscripts please note that the correct journal abbreviation is Energy Environ. Sci.
Looking forward
I hope you enjoy reading the articles in this issue, and can see the journal is “shaping up” very nicely. We remain absolutely committed to ensuring that Energy & Environmental Science enhances the research communities it serves. We sincerely hope that you will enjoy reading our exciting new journal and will submit some of your best work for publication in it. We always welcome your feedback and suggestions—please do keep contacting mailto:ees@rsc.org with your thoughts and ideas.With best wishes for the New Year,
Philip Earis
Editor, Energy & Environmental Science
News from RSC Publishing
Same great ReSourCe—just better!
During 2009 we will release a new version of ReSourCe, our system for online manuscript submission and peer review (www.rsc.org/resource). Already popular with authors and referees, we've listened to your feedback and made further improvements to our service. We're keen to build on your experience of ReSourCe, so if you would you like to help us shape the next release by taking part in beta-testing or by supplying your comments and suggestions please contact mailto:resourcesupport@rsc.org.More papers and greater impact
As we look forward to 2009, RSC Publishing is working with more authors than ever before—2008 saw the number of authors published in RSC Journals increase by 30%. Meanwhile titles from across the collection recorded impressive rises in impact factors, and the latest immediacy indices confirm the relevance and topicality of research published by the RSC.RSC Publishing is committed to providing a world-class publishing service and global visibility to its authors and with the number of citations increasing, immediacy and impact factors rising it is clear to see that Energy & Environmental Science and RSC Publishing are recognised by researchers throughout the world as a key resource to publish and read the very best research.
Your RSC subscriptions and free content
We know that it can be difficult to keep track of online resources that are available to you. So, we've introduced a special web page to help you to find out exactly what RSC content you can access. This new page is called Your RSC Subscriptions (www.rsc.org/Publishing/your_access.asp) and it lists all products for which your organisation has a current subscription, plus other content which may be available to you, such as the RSC Journals Archive and the RSC eBook collection.You can also find out about RSC content that is available free—including: research articles that are free for a limited time; news articles in magazines; and free chapters from the RSC eBook Collection. Visit www.rsc.org/Publishing/freeRSCcontent.asp.
Journal information
New journals
Our journal portfolio has expanded with three new titles.Two other new journals follow our successful launch of Energy & Environmental Science (www.rsc.org/ees)
Metallomics: Integrated biometal science which covers the research fields related to metals in biological, environmental and clinical systems (www.rsc.org/metallomics).
Integrative Biology: Quantitative biosciences from nano to macro to provide a unique venue for elucidating biological processes, mechanisms and phenomena through quantitative enabling technologies at the convergence of biology with physics, chemistry, engineering, imaging and informatics. Visit the website for the latest news: www.rsc.org/ibiology.
The current issue of all three journals is freely available online. Free online institutional access to all 2009 content is available for registered users—full details are on the website.
RSC eBook Collection
The RSC eBook Collection has become a world-class electronic resource with licenses being signed to leading institutions across the globe. New content continues to be uploaded regularly and this comprehensive resource now includes over 800 quality titles. Electronic book publications are uploaded within days of print publication, effortlessly disseminating extensive, high-quality, scientific content direct to scientists, libraries, students, teachers and researchers around the world. Please visit www.rsc.org/eBooks for further information or to view the RSC eBook Collection.Over 80 new print books will be published in 2009 as our list continues to grow in size and importance in the international market. Keep up to date with all the latest cutting edge titles being published by the RSC by visiting www.rsc.org/ej_alert and subscribing to our eAlerts. We send regular information on discount offers, print books and new electronic content throughout the year.
Footnotes |
| † Energy & Environmental Science official Facebook page: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Energy-Environmental-Science/24375018213 |
| ‡ RSC Journal RSS feeds Google gadget http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl = hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/115321514350875010675/rsc_journals.xml#x0026source = imag |
| § RSC Journals search Google gadget http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl = hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/115321514350875010675/rsc_ajax_search.xml#x0026source = imag |
| This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2009 |